The global car transportation and food delivery firm Uber is being stripped of its licence to operate in London, casting doubt over the UK-wide service.

The firm has muscled in on patches normally dominated by local taxi firms, offering a pre-pay pick-up service through its app and started up in Glasgow last year. The company followed that up by bringing their UberEats food delivery service to the city.

On Friday (September 22) Uber were told by Transport for London (TfL) that that it "will not be issued with a private hire operator licence" which means that from September 30 it will no longer have a licence to operate in the city.

The company plans to appeal the decision and will be able to continue to run until that appeals process has run its course.

Here we look at what's happened and ask what it means for the company in Glasgow.

Why have they been stripped of their licence?

TfL's primary concerns focus on passenger safety: "Regulation of London's taxi and private hire trades is designed to ensure passenger safety. Private hire operators must meet rigorous regulations, and demonstrate to TfL that they do so, in order to operate. TfL must also be satisfied that an operator is fit and proper to hold a licence. TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence. TfL considers that Uber's approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications."

That sounds fairly damning, but what are those 'issues'?

They were also written out in black and white in yesterday's TfL statement:

Its approach to reporting serious criminal offences.

Its approach to how medical certificates are obtained.

Its approach to how Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks are obtained.

Its approach to explaining the use of Greyball in London - software that could be used to block regulatory bodies from gaining full access to the app and prevent officials from undertaking regulatory or law enforcement duties.

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The move is being hailed by Unions in London who have been fighting against the app and the working practises adopted and by taxi firms whose business was threatened by Uber's arrival. They now have 21 days to appeal the decision, but this was their immediate response:

"3.5 million Londoners who use our app, and more than 40,000 licensed drivers who rely on Uber to make a living, will be astounded by this decision. By wanting to ban our app from the capital Transport for London and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice. If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport. To defend the livelihoods of all those drivers, and the consumer choice of millions of Londoners who use our app, we intend to immediately challenge this in the courts. Drivers who use Uber are licensed by Transport for London and have been through the same enhanced DBS background checks as black cab drivers. Our pioneering technology has gone further to enhance safety with every trip tracked and recorded by GPS. We have always followed TfL rules on reporting serious incidents and have a dedicated team who work closely with the Metropolitan Police. Uber operates in more than 600 cities around the world, including more than 40 towns and cities here in the UK. This ban would show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies who bring choice to consumers."

How big is the service in Glasgow?

Glasgow is one of 440 cities across six continents with Uber drivers on the streets. There are 19 other cities in the UK, including London, who have granted it licences. There are no official published figures on record detailing just how many drivers operate in Glasgow but their black stickers are a familiar site in the city and they are now viewed by many as the main rival to established taxi firms in the city.

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Probably quite warmly. This is how the Glasgow Taxis Association welcomed news that their licence had been granted: "Our beloved Glasgow councillors in their wisdom have now passed a base licence for UBER to operate in Glasgow and it's likely to follow in Edinburgh too. While other cities ban their operation due to public safety problems and to protect the employment of existing operators, Glasgow whisks through and rubber stamps their licence!"

Bill McIntosh, general secretary of the Scottish Taxi Federation, also said at the time: “Our main area of concern is not the competition. We are confident that we are in a good position to survive that. But we believe that the public are actually losing out if you look more closely at Uber’s operations in other countries. We have been working on the need for legislation for the last three years, but unfortunately the government has not taken this issue seriously enough. All we are asking for is to operate on a level playing field. We need to have a booking office under legislation and that makes us accountable. We keep records of every single hire. We believe that the government needs to legislate to make sure these tech companies are also as accountable as they need to be.”

Meanwhile, workers rights' group, Better Than Zero today welcomed the decision adding: "Dear Deliveroo this is what happens when you use bogus self-employment contracts and refuse to guarantee safety for workers."

Are there plans to review their licence to operate and how would Glaswegians to react if it was revoked?

The views are mixed. Many are aware of the concerns surrounding the company's practises and do not believe they should be allowed to operate here. However, plenty defended the company and see it as a fast, safe and simple way to get about in Glasgow. At time of writing there are no plans to review the company's licence here in the city.